Using staggered changes in amplitude and frequency to ameliorate electrosensation during treatment with alternating electric fields

Abstract

When transducer arrays (i.e., arrays of electrode elements) are used to apply alternating electric fields (e.g., TTFields) to a subject's body, the subject may experience electrosensation. This electrosensation can be ameliorated by (a) increasing the amplitude of the field in a series of steps, and allowing some time to pass for the subject to acclimate to each step before the amplitude is increased to the next-higher value, (b) starting out at a frequency that is higher than the recommended frequency for each indication (e.g., higher than 200 kHz for treating glioblastoma), subsequently decreasing the frequency to the recommended frequency in a series of steps, and allowing some time to pass for the subject to acclimate to each step before the frequency is decreased to the next-lower value, and (c) avoiding (or at least minimizing) situations in which an increase in amplitude and a decrease in frequency occur simultaneously.